How to drill tang holes in bowie handles?

G

gixxer

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Sep 21, 2006
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I was contemplating how to drill tang holes, and thought I would ask before I tear up a sick piece of wood. I had contemplated using a drill witha mortising chisel, but the smallest ones only go a hair over 1" deep. How are you guys doing it? I know that some of you are actually cutting the wood in two and milling a slot, then glue back together. Thanks for the help.
 
I think most people drill a hole and then use a scraper type tool to work it into a rectangle. I use one of three mini saws I made to open up a hidden tang hole. They are 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4" wide and they can be overlapped to cut an oddball thickness. Some people also drill a guide hole and then heat up the tang and burn it through.

A picture would explain it better.

hiddentang.jpg
 
I always taper the tangs on my hidden tangs so I drill two 1/4" holes side by side that taper toward each other and then use the bit to chew through the thin web between. this gives it the shape so the handle won't turn if the epoxy lets go. then I epoxy. I use aircraft drills that are 12" long, so there is noworry about depth.
Hope this helps,
Del
 
If you are wanting to drill holes for a hidden tang knife, I would begin by

finishing the blade shoulders then the guard. Smooth the end of the wood

block where it goes against the guard. If you then lay the tang with the

guard in position atop the wood block you dan scribe the outline of the

tang onto the wood. I use a drill press to hollow out the inside of the block

to accept the tang. A Zip cutter for wood can be used to finish out the hole,

if the drilling does not suffice. Drill the hole in the tang, set atop the wood

block again and mark the hole. Drill the holes in the block when it is still

at full thickness. Your pins will fit much better. Point the end of the pin

insert the tang and see how it fits. If you are off slightly you can inlarge

the hole in the tang a little to fit. The epoxy will fill any inside voids.

This is just one way to do this; there are many others.

If you can get a good fit at the guard shoulder junction the rest is fairly

easy.

I figure you must be stationed at McDill AFB seeing that you are in Tampa.

My son is there. Arrived in December. He is in broadband Comm.

Kevin is his name.

If this post has added to the confusion, I would be happy to clarify in any

way I can.
Good luck, Fred
 
I was gonna aquire some 6" bits and drill side by side, then chisel. if they only made square hollow chisels that could go deeper than 1". Oh well. I will get my practice in shortly.

B Finn, I might still try the burning method. I wonder how toxic the fumes and smoke are from doing that to stabilized wood!?! Luckily I have organic filters for my mask. I might make a scraper. Did you cut the teeth and HT your saws, or just cut the teeth and start working with it?

Fred, ironically, I had comm out @ my building running some cat 5 for my work comp. I need to call back and specifically ask for PERSONNEL ROWE then!! He will get a kick outa the fact that I talk to you on here.
 
I cut the teeth and then HT them just like a blade. The teeth do not have an offset like a regular saw does so they cut an exact width. I made a simple little jig to help cut the teeth evenly but for tang hole scraping they don't need to be. Just about everything in a knife making shop will have a toxicity level. A respirator is a good idea.

You can also buy scrapers at several knife making supply places. I just like making my own tools.
 
I use a tool thats similar (in it's own way) to the one that B Finnigan makes, except that mine come in packs of 10 from B+Q (DIY Store like Home Depot only not as well stocked ;) ). They're called Extra Long Jig-Saw Blades ! :)
Clamp them in a set of vice pliers and away you go.
It's sometimes useful to grind a little of the "spine" of the blade to get into the very bottom of a narrow hole, but they work a treat for opening up a drill hole into a tang-shaped hole in a solid handle block.
 
Mines pretty much on the same idea as B Finnigan's. 3.00 dollar sheetrock saw that I ground down the spine on. They cut on the pull stroke. I also used to use a Rem-grit blade with the ends cut off. They worked pretty well.
 
I drill a line of holes the same depth as the length of the tang, then clear out the space in between with an end mill. You can do it with a drill bit if you take it slow and don't put too much pressure on the bit. One of those spiral cutting bits for the Rotozip type tools might work well.

Since you are using wood, once you get the hole close to the right size, you can heat up the tang of your blade and burn it into the handle. I have used this technique a few times, and I'm amazed by how easy the tang burns in. You get a really tight fit unless you things too much. Be aware that you sometimes have flames shooting out, especially if you have a through tang.

When burning in the tang, I prefer to put the blade in a vice and hold the piece of wood. It just seems safer to me to not be holding the hot part. Also, the metal vise acts as a heat sink and helps to keep from ruining the temper on the blade. As soon as I get the handle burned in I pull it off (otherwise it can get stuck) then submerge the blade in a bucket of water.

If you are interested in burning the tang in but don't want to screw up you nice piece of wood, you could always practice on a scape piece of hardwood first.
 
Chris Meyer said:
I drill a line of holes the same depth as the length of the tang, then clear out the space in between with an end mill. You can do it with a drill bit if you take it slow and don't put too much pressure on the bit. One of those spiral cutting bits for the Rotozip type tools might work well.

Since you are using wood, once you get the hole close to the right size, you can heat up the tang of your blade and burn it into the handle. I have used this technique a few times, and I'm amazed by how easy the tang burns in. You get a really tight fit unless you things too much. Be aware that you sometimes have flames shooting out, especially if you have a through tang.

When burning in the tang, I prefer to put the blade in a vice and hold the piece of wood. It just seems safer to me to not be holding the hot part. Also, the metal vise acts as a heat sink and helps to keep from ruining the temper on the blade. As soon as I get the handle burned in I pull it off (otherwise it can get stuck) then submerge the blade in a bucket of water.

If you are interested in burning the tang in but don't want to screw up you nice piece of wood, you could always practice on a scape piece of hardwood first.
Click to expand...

One way to burn the tang in without the possibility of harming the temper is to do it prior to heat treating the blade.

Craig
 
or use a screwdriver with the same dimensions, or a piece of scrap cut to the same dimensions as the tang. That idea just popped into my head. Man, can't wait to try this and the saw method. Gonna have to post pics.
 
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